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PRAISE OF CHROMOSOME "FOLLY"
Confessions of an Untamed Molecular Structure
by Antonio Lima-de-Faria (Lund University, Sweden)
When examined carefully at the molecular level, the chromosome turns out to have created its own private world full of tricks, back door exits and novel solutions. This folly makes it an untamed innovator, and has been a cause of much bewilderment to geneticists for decades. What kind of creature is the chromosome? Does it change by innumerous rearrangements and mutations all the time, or does it have a rigid structure which has preserved its basic organization and functions since the dawn of the cell? Indeed, the chromosome is highly plastic and at the same time highly rigid — it is this very paradox that seems to be at the base of its folly. Perplexed by this behavior, cell biologists have described it using unfavorable terms such as “junkyard” and even “the ultimate parasite”. Moreover, the chromosome has been regarded as a passive cell organelle prone to random mutations and at the mercy of selection.
This timely book contains the latest information on the molecular organization of the chromosome. The information is original and is presented in an unorthodox way, while carefully chosen elucidating and attractive figures serve to add clarity to the subject treated. Thus, the book will add greatly to the general debate on the evolution of living organisms, and will be of particular interest to these in the biotechnological industry.
Contents:
- The Source of Folly and the Reason for Confessions
- Who Cares for
Gravity?
- Who Cares for Randomness?
- Who Cares for Selection?
- Who Cares for Magnetism?
- Biological Order Is the Product of Self-Assembly, and Self-Assembly Is the Product of Atomic Recognition
- Where Did the Chromosome Come From and Where Is It Going?
Readership: General educated public, geneticists, evolutionists, molecular
biologists and biotech industry specialists.
| 380pp (approx.) |
Pub. date: Scheduled Fall 2008 |
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